The Real Road to SerfdomMatthew Meyer, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Philosophy and Director, Pre-Law Advisory Program, The University of Scranton

In The Road to Serfdom (1944), the Austrian economist, Friedrich Hayek, argued that using government to realize ideals of social justice and the common good leads to serfdom. Instead, Hayek defended an individualism that rejects the common good, restricts government activity and paves the way for market-based solutions to social problems. Since the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, that framework has largely dominated politics in the U.S. Dr. Meyer will ask whether the implementation of Hayek's ideas puts us on the real road to serfdom and explore some alternatives.

How do societies remember their pasts? What stories are memorialized and celebrated and what events are evaded or forgotten? What are the politics of the process? How do Americans remember and represent the country's racial past, a history that manifestly contradicts the "self-evident" propositions of liberty and equality enshrined in the founding documents? Historian James Campbell will reflect on the sources and meanings of these struggles.

LECTURE 3: 1:45 to 3 PMThe Supreme Court at the Intersection of Law and PoliticsMark C. Alexander, J.D., Arthur J. Kania Dean and Professor of Law, Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law

In theory the Justices on the U.S. Supreme Court are supposed to be removed from political pressure due to their lifetime tenure. But this protection does not mean that they do not understand politics and do not act in ways that can be described as political. And inevitably, the Justices are involved in important cases that shape the nature of our American political system. This talk will explore some examples, trends and ramifications.

LECTURE 4: 3:15 to 4:45 PM

An American Art Story: 1880s to 1920sJosephine Dunn, Ph.D., Professor, Art History, Oral History, European Cultural History, The University of Scranton

Dr. Dunn will discuss art as created, exhibited, collected and purchased in America, using Scranton as a microcosm of the national art scene.